fund-raising goal, 10,000. very kind of you. congratulations. good for you. martha: good to have you here. >> it has been nice this veterans day. have a safe and good one. many thanks as always to all our veterans out there. martha: see you back here tomorrow. "happening now" start the right now. jenna: we start with brand new stories and breaking news for you. growing outrage over the sex scandal surrounding former cia director david petraeus. lawmakers demanding to know why they were left in the dark about that investigation as new questions are raised whether petraeus shared classified information with his mistress. some questions. meantime a massive house explosion leveling an entire indianapolis neighborhood, killing two people and leaving dozens of others homeless. what caused this deadly blast. a new study showing a link between pregnancy, the flu and autism. it is all "happening now."

jenna: start with our top story. new developments in the sex scandal rocking the former head of the cia. glad you're with us this monday morning. i'm jenna lee. >> i'm rick folbaum in for jon scott. the timeline is unfolding as we learn how the affair between the general and his buying graph fer, paula broadwell came to light. jenna: fox news confirmed a friend of the petraeus famly, jill kelly, contacted the fbi said she got threatening e-mails from anonymous e-mail account, that e-mail, those anonymous e-mails were discovered to be linked to broadwell, the mistress of general petraeus. that kicked of the investigation into high gear over the summer. lawmakers and the white house apparently did not know anything about it. the white house says it didn't learn about any of this until just last week, right after election day and just as controversy continued to grow over the benghazi terror attack.

kelly wright live in washington with more for us now. >> reporter: jenna, good morning to you. just as you said this is something very shocking to washington as well as mysterious. fox news learned fbi investigators confronted now former cia director david petraeus about his former relationship paula broadwell. the fbi discovered the affair months ago after jill kelly, a petraeus family friend went to the fbi began receiving threatening e-mails from another woman. she was concerned someone was blackmailing petraeus. some question why the fbi didn't notify top members of congress before the shocking announcement. lawmakers question the timing of the resignation as cia director petraeus was supposed to testify before congress about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. instead, cia director michael morrell will be questioned about the attack that killed chris stevens and three other americans.

former cia director michael hayden said at some point petraeus should testify. >> general pet tray cause -- petraeus have personal insight because he visited libya after the attack and those owes. the timing it is mysterious. >> reporter: fox news learned that paula broadwell may have revealed classified information during a speech at her alma mater, the university of den verb. in that speech she suggests that petraeus knew almost immediately the attack was a terror attack possibly to free militia members. >> now i don't know if a lot of you heard this but the cia annex had taken a couple of libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get the prisoners back. that is still being vetted. >> reporter: former cia director michael hayden says he thinks broadwell's

information is wrong. she believes she did not get it from petraeus at all. that is why he believes these kind of relationships for top level people like petraeus are wrong. he said at that time the attack was due to a spontaneous uprising in response to an anti-islam video. lawmakers were perplexed by this some even belief petraeus may have lied. jenna. jenna: more later on the story, kelly, thank you. >> how does the scandal and general's resignation going to affect the war on terror? joining us major general bob scales. happy veteran's day to you. thanks for the your service to our country and thanks for all the men and women who keep this country safe and great. general petraeus, someone i know you have a lot of respect for. so much to cover. the war on terror, how does this affect if at all our ability to keep the country

>> rick i think this affects enormous and one of the issues missing in this dialogue. david petraeus is so qualified to continue the war. remember once we pull american soldiers out of afghanistan we'll create a vacuum that can only be filled by special operating forces and clandestine forces under control of the ci. and dave is one of the few people that has military experience. he has the wisdom to understand the region. he has been involved in the war actively 10 years. he understands how to apply military force probably better than anyone else on the planet and at this critical time as we begin to withdraw our active participation in this war to have dave walk off the stage i think is a great hit to national defense. rick: we heard in kelly wright he is reporting a little clip of a speech that paula broadwell, the other woman in this story, gave to university students, talking about the benghazi attack.

what is being done to make sure that she does not have access to, does not know certain information, or intelligence that she could then use if she wanted to or someone who is close to her to do harm to the united states? >> well, i also know paula. and she wouldn't do that. paula is a friend. she and i have consulted on various things over the years and she's a patriot. i don't know anything about how she got access to classified material. i seriously doubt it if she got it from dave. if she did, but i wouldn't be, i think there are far more things to worry about in the national security arena rather than how paula got access to classified material, rick. rick: on benghazi, general scales, we're about to have congressional hearings. we heard that there is still a chance that general petraeus could be testified, could be called to testify, subpoenaed to testify. does this story have any impact on us getting to the bottom of what happened in

at the consulate in benghazi? >> yeah. i think eventually, dave will testify in some ways. i think thursday's too soon. i think think what's important with the petraeus family right now to get their affairs in order. this is as much about holly petraeus as it is about dave. i think he should be given some quiet time to reflect and to connect with his family and we have time. the day will come one day dave will testify sooner rather than later but i don't think we should push it to thursday. rick: you wrote a piece recently, general petraeus should be the model all future generals are cut. do you still feel that way? >> i absolutely do. i call it the petraeus model because he is personal embodiment of the warrior scholar, the war intellectual. not only competent at the tactical and operational level but he is a genius at

the strategic level, so you don't get there without studying your profession, going to military school, without teaching in the military system, without reflecting on your profession over many years as well as mixing it with operational assignments. i think the model of dave petroleum going for petraeus needs to be the model for the entire military future, rick. rick: can he make a comeback? >> of course he can. his talents are far too valuable with the nation to let this interfere long term. the nation needs david petraeus. as i said at the beginning of interview he was a special talents of being a scholar, a warrior, intellect and soldier that very, very few in our military profession possess, rick. rick: great insight as always from major general bob scales. general scales, thanks so much. >> thank you, rick. jenna: lots more on that story throughout the day today. meantime breaking news out after hard-hit area in new york a massive cleanup underway in a community devastated by superstorm

sandy. nearly two weeks after it hit many residents say they feel forgotten. jonathan hunt live in belle harbor, new york, with more. jonathan? >> reporter: jenna, this is belle harbor, part of the rock aways peninsula. this part is belle harbor hard hit. not just water that did damage but fires swept through the street taking out many, many homes. down here you see the sandbags you see the family that lived in the home to try to prevent waters and not much good with the surge they got and fire that did so much damage. this is the porch. this bmw completely flooded. the water down on the floor boards of the car there, extensive are damage to the inside you can see quite clearly. one of the major problems here as it is in so many communities is power. the long island power authority is responsible here. lipa, as it is known. still 29 thousand people in

the rockaways do not have power. they have crews from phoenix, arizona. they have crews from all over the country to get this done. you look at the huge task ahead of them, all across streets like this, these kind of wireses danking down. one they have to check the safety of them first. then simply a question of getting it all fixed. we are across the other side of the road. obviously you see more homes destroyed there. ironic sign, live well, laugh often, love much. we talked to a few people in this neighborhood, jenna. they are trying to laugh as much as they can. there is precious little for them to be particularly happy about right now. we talked to a family who owned this home. it has a couple of little benches on the edge now. they were trying to be as positive as they can but they say right now they can't even rethink about rebuilding because just one, block and a half that way is the ocean. the ocean wall, is completely destroyed.

until that is rebuilt, the insurance companies won't give any of these families the money they need to start rebuilding their lives. jenna? jenna: what a predictment that is. the scenes behind you, jonathan, still so difficult to take in. we mention a lot of residents feel forgotten, who do they feel forgotten by, what do they need? >> they need everything. it all starts with power. that is the basic need everybody needs to get back here so they can of course start getting their lives back together. they also need food. though need water. there is a headquarters set up about a block away from us where people are getting those kind of things but it is get enough in quickly enough for these people. they are trying to be positive. the human spirit, you meet here, is extraordinary but they just need more help. we are going to be talking to a team of veterans actually, team rubicon, who are here trying to help on veterans day of course. so they're getting some help. it is just not enough. it is difficult for it ever to be enough frankly, jenna.

jenna: well-put, jonathan. we'll continue to watch that story. thank you. rick: a fox news alert and to the middle east where the israeli military says it has scored direct hits on targets in syria as israeli tanks opened fire after a syrian mortar shell landed at an israeli base in the golan heights. israel warning the united nations that while the response is measured this time, it will respond with greater force if is syria's civil war continued to spill over the border into israel. the israeli strike was the first direct engagement with syria in nearly 40 years. this image shows the destruction in the goal hahn heights during the 1973 yom kippur war. we'll have much more on the developing story. jenna: a frightening robbery caught on camera. how police think the suspects may have used superstorm sandy to their advantage. we'll have that. dozens of people left homeless after a deadly house explosion destroys an

entire main hood. what caused this blast? we're live with the latest on that mystery next.

rick: right now some new information on some crime stories we're keeping an eye on for you. testimony concluding in the preliminary hearing for an american soldier charged with killing 16 afghan civilians. staff sergeant robert bales listened as several children testified by video link about the massacre on the 11th of march. he has entered a not guilty plea. police asking for the public's health in finding a missing teenager in georgia. they believe this sfwirl, 14-year-old jezelda was abducted by a 24-year-old hispanic man in the town of glenville over the weekend on saturday. he may have taken her to atlanta. >> the hunt is on for two men caught on camera trying

to rob a 7-eleven store in alexander, virginia. they may have ben advantage of the hurricane sandy, since they staged the crime the night the superstorm blew through. >> she was always involved with the kids, very helpful, soft-spoken. >> she always would read stories. >> she loved her job and good with all the kids and did an excellent job. jenna: a community grieving today. friends and family remembering a elementary school teacher and her husband who were killed in a massive house explosion in indianapolis. the blast leaving dozens of people homeless. take in the scene. mike tobin live in chicago with more. mike, any solid information what caused this? >> reporter: not so far. investigators from the national transportation safety board and department of transportation descended on indianapolis. that may seem like an odd choice of investigative agencies but they oversee the pipelines and transportation of natural

gas in the pipelines that. opens up a possibility thinking this may have been caused by a national gas leak. a spoix man for citizens energy reported no one called in smelling gas ahead of the explosion. that doesn't rule out a gas leak. no one smelled it at the time. explosion. a bomb has been ruled out and a possibility that a meth lab exploded. that possibility has been ruled out. that cause very much a mystery, jenna. jenna: any warning at all this was about to takes place? >> it happened in an instant. people were going about their business doing what you would do on a saturday night. at at once the explosion happened, turned the neighborhood into a fireball. shook homes as far as three miles away. left behind charred earth, splintered wood, broken glass. 200 people are out of their homes. 31 homes looks like they will be taken right down to the ground. two people killed by the force of this blast, it all happened without warning. it happened in an instant,

jenna. jenna: so odd and scary. hopefully we get answers on this. mike, thank you. >> you got it. rick: when we come back a new concern for women who are pregnant who could develop the flu. how it could impact their unborn baby. we're live with that story. also the benghazi terror attack and what islamic jihadists are saying that could reveal clues about potential future attacks coming up next. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare...

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rick: we're back with some new information on a study showing a possible link between the flu and autism. patti ann browne live with the details. >> hello, rick. the study found women who had flu while they were pregnant were twice as likely to have a child later diagnosed with autism. mothers with a fever lasting a week or longer whether caused by flu or something else were three times as likely to have an autistic

child. the study suggests inflammation caused by the mother's immune system during pregnancy could affect the developing child's brain according to "nbc news." the 96,000 children studied were born in denmark between 1997 and 2003. the mothers were interviewed twice while they were pregnant and again when their babies were six months old. it showed women who took certain antibioticses were likely to have a child with autism, -- more likely. it is not known whether those that took the drugs were sicker than other women. women who said they had a cold, urinary tract infection or her piece were not like more likely to have a child autism. they said pregnant women who get the flu should not panic. 99% of women reporting to have influenza or fever during a pregnancy do not have children with asd. autism spectrum disorders affect one in 88 children.

today's report is in the latest issue of the journal "pediatrics". rick: patti ann thanks. jenna: new information on the september 11 terror attack in benghazi, libya. that attack where four americans were killed including our ambassador the first time we've seen that since 1979 three hearing are scheduled this week on capitol hill on the attack on the consulate. islamic jihadists says our next guest is eyeing benghazi as a. walid phares, you spent looking at chat rooms and online, what do you mean by benghazi being a model for future attacks? >> well, jenna, this word has been used not by analysts but jihadists themselves. let me give you run-down. we had a disconnect between the washington and film and movie and all that and the actual debate taking place in the chat rooms, salah if i chat rooms hours after attacks.

the first discussions were how successful the jihadists were in libya. then the press release came and posted on facebook and discussed in the chat rooms, said ansar al-sharia were the ones who were successful. at the time we said here on the channel, basically al qaeda at some point, at some level will have to react. indeed a week ago as we all know now a video was posted. mr. al-zawahiri number one of al qaeda said in a quote, we got them out of iraq. we got them out of afghanistan. now we did a successful strike in benghazi. that is the buzz in the chat rooms. jenna: walid, such a good point that so much of our time has been focused inward when it comes to the benghazi attack and not necessarily focused outward on our enemies and where they're moving based on what you've seen and what you told us where would you be watching next? >> first of all as we look in the chat rooms they feel and say, some of them, this is not the official story but this is the buzz and that is very important indicator, that they looked at benghazi as a model and they even gave it a arabic name, that could target

other places around the region, not just diplomatic places but maybe private sectors as well. and also what we see out of benghazi area are connections between the jihadists in libya and jihadists in other places including, to, in syria. there is a relationship between the network in libya and the network operating in syria. jenna: tell is more about that. >> basically we know from public sources a ship full of weapons sent from libya to benghazi to syria. those who received the aid, first layer of aid, and weapons were islamists in syria. focus on the region by intelligence people and observers what kind of networks jihadists developed in the region as a whole. not just syria, lebanon but egypt and possibly beyond. jenna: let's focus on syria. this conflict has been going on for 19 months. woe just heard news that the opposition group there elected a leader, a

christian, the second-in-command being a member of the muslim brotherhood. we keep hearing that the opposition forces are very amorphous, we can't side with them because they don't know who they are. how do we interrupt the forces if they are keith a network and are at work in this region? >> jenna, very interesting we moved from we don't know who they are to we very well know who they are at this time. the central force and opposition is the muslim brotherhood. there is consensus among the region and observe. >> the number two of the new group, is a number two of the muslim brotherhood in syria. the chief, the new president of the council is indeed a christian. he is secular. he has been very liberal. he will oppose the muslim brotherhood. the problem, jenna, he doesn't have influence. those who control the ground are islamist militias. those who control most of the institutions are muslim brotherhood. you have your map there. jenna: in your opinion is the muslim brotherhood

behind, maybe not necessarily all the way behind but has their tentacles to what happened in benghazi and in syria, now obviously into the government in egypt? is that a connection throughout the whole region we should be watching? >> we have to be very careful how to frame it. yes the muslim brotherhood are trying and are successful in seizing power, in egypt, tunisia, and partially in libya and trying in syria but next to the muslim brotherhood, to the right, if may say to the right more radicals are the salafists. they are the allies of the muslim brotherhood. they are in the connection with the jihadi militias. the mb, muslim brotherhood have an ally connected to the terrorists networks in the region. jenna: so what do we do? >> first of all we need to identify the forces that would push back and we missed it, jenna. we missed it it in egypt with the youth, minorities women, we missed two years working with civil societies and now look at the results. jenna: is there nothing that can be do on?

>> there is something to be done. first of all a change in our united states foreign policy. we need to start looking at other groups other than the muslim brotherhood and create a balance of power between both. jenna: sounds like something we'll be talking about for some time to come. a lot of movement in the region. a lot of forces at work. great to have you on the program as always. >> thank you, jenna, washington gearing up to tackle the impending fiscal cliff but the president and the speaker of the house john boehner each drawing lines that they say they will not cross. the major hurdles, that threat to send the economy into a tailspin, that's coming up next. plus a nascar race turning into a full-scale brawl. look at this. mayhem breaking out of the everybody going at it. we'll tell you what set it off. after this. ve lately.

but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together.

jenna: well come back, everyone. now let's return to the economy. the president and house speaker john boehner are suggesting they are willing to compromise to prevent our economy from going over that so-called fiscal cliff but both sides are digging in their heels whether or not to race tax rates for the wealthy. rich edson of the fox business network watching this all for us in washington. democrats got the white house, they got the senate. how are they beginning this bargaining process? >> reporter: jenna, the president says he and democrats campaigned on wealthier americans paying more in taxes. he says the voters have spoken in favor of his position. the democrats starting point? allow tax rate increases in january to hit families

earning more than $250,000 a year. >> the issue is the math. that's why i think the starting point should be going back to clinton-era rates. then proceeding with tax reform. >> reporter: taxes continue to be the most significant divide between democrats and republicans. nearly all federal income tax rates are scheduled to increase in january, jenna. jenna: rich, are republicans willing to give a little bit there? >> reporter: since the election they have been far more open about discussing revenues and taxes. they opposed an increase in income tax rates, what the president and democrats want. still there are other ways to raise revenue like limiting tax deductions. the republicans only seem ready to deal on taxes where democrats go where they refused, structural changes to entitlement programs. >> we absolutely must get a handle on the spending in this country. in order to do it has to be threw medicare reform, medicaid reform, social security.

under current law those are destined for failure. >> reporter: leaders get to work this out for the first time, well, for the first time since the election. jenna: seems like deja vu. would be nice if they figured it out on "fox news sunday". you never know what can happen on the show. rich, thank you. >> reporter: thanks. rick: the fiscal cliff one of many issues folks seem to want the bipartisan agreement on. but after the record $6 billion campaign blitz left political control in washington completely unchanged will we see any break to the gridlock? time for a fair and balanced debate. simon rosenberg, president and founder of ndn. former clinton campaign advisor. pete snyder, chairman of virginia victory 2012. a fox news contributor. pete, cooperation, how much and where? >> well i think this is a tremendous opportunity for barack obama to lead. he chose not to do that at the start of his administration in 08. instead of focusing on the economy went right after obamacare.

he is basketball player. i think he could pull the ultimate head fake and actually not raise rates on small businesses. the markets would soar. he would get a lot of goodwill. he gets the budget in place and doesn't touch tax rates on small businesses, i think his approval ratings and market goes through the roof. rick: i had thought maybe we would hear from pete where the republicans would be willing to compromise instead of where he thinks the president would be willing to come promize. but, sometime mon, that said, 47% of the american people voted for mitt romney and the points that he was making during the campaign. don't those folks have any kind of say in this? >> sure absolutely. i think, the country wants, i think as the president said, that he got a mandate for action and i think it is now going to come down to his leadership along with the house and senate leaders and obviously all the rank-and-file in the house and senate to come up with a deal. i think this can get done the next six months.

i don't think the math is hard. i think politics gets hard. there is much more unanimity something has to get done. time to get it done. right after election, beginning of a 4-year presidential term. i'm optimist that the two parties come together that they con work together and work this through. rick: bill kristol was on the program and he said he personally doesn't think it will kill the country to raise taxes on millionaires. that is what his thinking is. did bill kristol give republicans cover, washington on capitol hill, saying what he said about raising taxes on the rich? >> i don't think so. i'm a small business owner. the vast majority of small business owners fit into that category. raising rates will have a crippling effect on hiring, getting this economy moving again. we really need to look at entitlement rerms. we really need to actually have a budget for the first time in four years for the united states of america. and again, barack obama is going to look at his legacy

and looking at markets. he has a terrific opportunity right here and right now to embrace small business, get the markets growing again and really do a lot for his legacy in the long run. rick: simon, americans do seem to want to see a certain level of cooperation between the parties. you know, but this is a president who has not really shown a willingness to reach across the aisle. now in his second term does that change? >> well, i don't agree with the first statement but i think that he has made it clear from his statements of the last few days that he expects to work with john boehner and republicans and mitch mcconnell in the senate to try to, you know, tackle a few big things. i think one of the things my, the other guest said, which is just fallacious and wrong and shouldn't be repeated is that the idea that the raising rates on people over $250,000 is going to hit a majority of small business owners. >> simon, you're not even a small business. you're a policy wonk. >> you keep saying it doesn't make it true. 97% of small business owners will be exempt from it. >> you have no clue.

>> i'm going to finish. the i'm going to finish. under bill clinton we raised taxes on rich people. saw the biggest economic boom in american history. under george bush we lowered taxes on rich people go into economic ruin. >> this is problem with people with no connection. >> i'm going to i'm going to finish i'm going to finish. so there is not, based on our own experience a direct connection between raising rates and on wealthy people and economy going, going down. in fact the opposite happened. and so you can keep saying it doesn't make it true. rick: go ahead, pete. >> simon you have no experience in the private sector. never run a is business. that is problem when you have policy wonks. >> i run a business, 16 years. nice try, pete. >> solution for america. small businesses are answer here. president has a great opportunity to lead. >> i've been running a small business for 16 years. pete. rick: not everything was decided last tuesday. not everything was settled. we'll continue the conversation. simon and pete, we'll have you back again soon. >> thank you.

>> sure. jenna: put your resume's up so we can decide who has years of experience in the business world. we're getting some breaking news here. not too far from the studio in new york city of a massive traffic accident. patti ann brown watching it from the newsroom. >> reporter: 17 people were reportedly injured, two of them serious seriously, when two buses collided outside the lincoln tunnel in new jersey. three passengers were taken out of the buses strapped to backboard and the crash closed the outbound lanes of lincoln tunnel for nearly three hours. this at a time when commuting to manhattan is still difficult in the aftermath of sandy. a new jersey transit spokesman that a marked trail ways bus rear-ended a bus in the express bus lane heading into manhattan. there is speculation that the accident may have been caused in part by heavy fog. it backed up eastbound traffic toward the lincoln

tunnel toward the jersey turnpike to plaza, exit 16 and route 3. service was running on delays of 60 to 90 minutes. the accident caused residual delays on local highways. port authority police are investigating the crash, jenna. jenna: we should talk to crewmembers who had a hard time getting in because of this. backed up a lot of the city. patti ann, thank you. >> reporter: thanks. rick: i goes you could call it nascar's version of road rage. check out the massive brawl. we'll tell you what sparked it coming up next. plus could it be the end of the line for a iconic treat. why there is trouble head for twinkies. neil cavuto will be very upset. jenna: not twinkies. rick: we're live with the story coming up ?

jenna: drivers at a nascar race in phoenix battling it out on the track and off as well. the all-out brawl triggered by this you see own the screen, jeff gordon bumping

into clint bower and ran him into the wall on the second to last lap of the race. that stopped the race and triggered a massive brawl. never a good thing for someone to run straight toward you, right? gordon pulled i his damaged car flat pit. boyer's crew went after him and both sides got into it. gordon said boyer ran into him many times on the racetrack suggesting this was a bit of retaliation. we've seen this many times on the track. nascar has not decided whether anyone will be punished. something you don't see every day. rick: true. new information just in from the international energy agency. and it is now predicting the u.s. could overtake saudi arabia and russia to become the world's largest oil producer by the year 2017 thanks to the shale oil revolution and the u.s. could become energy independent. but some analysts warn the u.s. oil boom is still in its infancy and continued growth at levels predicted might not be able to be guaranteed. phil flynn, seen i don't remember market analyst at

price futures group. could this be energy independence in your foot, phil? >> yes it can. yes it can. all those people said we couldn't grow our way to energy independence, they're wrong. the people in the industry are very excited about that. you know why this is good, not only for the obvious geopolitical national security things but also because our economy needs something right now. it need as boost. it needs a driving force. energy and energy production probably will be that boost. it will be the new internet revolution, the new thing that could drive the economy for the next 10 to 20 years if not longer. rick: phil, i thought this administration was anti-drilling stood in the way of these kinds of advances. shot down the keystone oil project. what is going on? >> they're shouting down more. over the weekend they shut down more federal lands for drilling. that was the big question in the debate. president obama says we're drilling more but on federal lands we're drilling less.

we'll continue to drill even less. there is no doubt this administration has done everything that they can to stand in the way. they have one of the most militant epas. they have been really, trying to find something wrong with fracking, though they really can't. and they were talking about just recently a new carbon tax, a new carbon tax that could really slow down this energy production. drive gasoline prices, maybe to $7 a gallon. now they did back off that carbon tax. we know this administration would much rather power this economy with the energy technologies that won't be viable for 30, 40 years from now as opposed to driving the economy with what's viable today. >> phil, this analysis said we could be oil exporters within the next 20 years or some what kind of an impact would that have on our economy as a whole? >> well i think it is going to give us a new form of income. it will lower our trade deficit. we were always concerned about, you know, sending all our money to china for goods

and the trade deficit with china, it is not fair. guess what? we're going to be in a distinct advantage over china, not only from a trade standpoint because we're going to be able to provide them with energy they need but also because we're going to be able to attract manufacturing jobs here to the united states. why? because we're going to have the reliable, low-priced energy source for years to come. that's going to bring manufacturing back to the u.s. that will bring factories and jobs. this is historic. i'm euphoric. i've seen it coming for some time. i'm glad the international energy agency is reporting this today. rick: you mentioned geopolitics, and i know you're a money guy, but what is the potential impact as far as u.s. relations with countries like saudi arabia, other countries in the middle east with russia? what's the impact? >> it will change it dramatically. saudi arabia, believe it or not, despite the fact we're you know, producing more and more oil and don't need their oil, they're trying to send us more oil. we imported more oil from

saudi arabia this year than we have in many, many years? why? they want to keep prices down. i do think the u.s. has had a long relationship with saudi arabia and they will continue to have a good relationship with them but the rest of the middle east, this does change the picture. our foreign policy basically since the 1970s built around protecting our energy independence and our economy from the threat that countries in the middle east would cut off our supplies. that is going to change right now. we're going to be in the drivers seat for years to come. countries that used to use oil as a weapon against us will beg us to be part of their club and, work with them. so it is definitely, has changed and will continue to change over the next 10 to 20 years. rick: phil flynn, contributor to fox business network. thanks so much. >> thanks, rick. jenna: a dramatic rescue after a fiery crash on a california freeway. what two motorists did that has people calling them heroes. we'll show you that story. as rich mentioned, a

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jenna: fiery crash on a freeway sparking a very dramatic rescue. it happened just minutes after the driver hit a center divider near sherman oaks, california. his car overturning and burst into flames. two other motorists stopped at the scene quickly sprang into action. here is what one of the heroes had to say about the situation. >> the car was on fiery. thinking i didn't know whether or not it was going to explode and needed to get him out as quick as possible. jenna: he along with the

other motorist were able to pull the driver out in time. the driver is at the hospital. no word on the exact condition. pretty good samaritans. rick: i'll say. "occupy wall street"ers leaving behind picket signs to help storm victims hit hardest by sandy. the group has dozens of relief centers across new york city and a stream of volunteers who are shuttled out to the most desperate areas. occupy has even supplied residents with hot meals, batteries and blankets while nurses check on the elderly. jenna: not bad. do something that could help somebody. word hostess is on strike, that cop that makes twinkies is in jeopardy. patti ann has the details. >> reporter: it started when hostess imposed a contract that would cut wages by 8%. the bakers union said the contract would cut benefits by 32%. so the workers launched a strike on friday and yesterday they formed a picket line at the company's plant in sack crow man at

the, california. hostess has gone bankrupt twice -- sacramento. the ceo says if the strike continues there is certainly risk that hostess will go out of business. the company makes twinkies wonder bread and other baked goods, lost market share in the 1980s and '90s as moms became more health-conscious. several hundred workers at a hostess plant in northeast filth definitely are off the job today. they say they are honoring the bakers union strike. 92% of union members voted to reject the contract now being imposed. spokesman said they're not just striking for themselves but all unionized workers in collective bargaining agreements. hostess warned that a widespread strike would force the company to liquidate if unable to produce products t would lay off those most of $318,000 workforce and sell assets to highest bidder. jenna: sounds like a gamble with the contracts. rick: they have to work that

out, right? jenna: otherwise the job is gone. rick: and we don't get our twinkies. >> the more important point. rick: a lot of important points here to focus on. new information and growing anger over the sudden downfall of the cia director david petraeus. lawmakers on the hill furious they weren't told about the extramarital affair between america's spy chief and his biographer, paula broadwell on the right. we'll have details straight ahead. new fears that the civil war in syria will drag israel into the fighting. a border that has been quiet for years not quiet anymore and we'll take you there live 4g lte is the fastest.

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insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. jenna: brand new and developing stories two weeks after a devastating storm, tens of thousands without power in new york. why the power companies say some residents will still have to wait longer. wow. election officials in florida telling congressman alan west he lost a bid for another term by a razor-thin margin, but

mr. west says, not so fast. why he says keep counting. and a historic tourist destination now 70% underwater. how residents are opening -- coping and when the record-setting flood will recede. jenna: in the meantime, new detailstails in a growing uproar the downfall of america's top spy chief, well, former now. welcome to the second hour of "happening now" now, everybody, i'm jenna lee. rick: and i'm rick folbaum in for jon. top lawmakers say they're furious over the affair between david petraeus and paula broadwell or about the fbi investigation which had been going on for several months, apparently, plus classified information that may have been revealed. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more on this, including a fox news exclusive. >> or well, we've been looking at a speech that paula broadwell

gave on october 26th in denver, colorado, and in that speech she raises some serious questions that some are wondering whether she may have revealed details that she knew about the benghazi investigations, details that broadwell may have, in fact, obtained from her relationship with cia director david petraeus. at this speech at her alma mater in denver on october 26th, the same day as fox news reported by the way that requests from the ci ark annex were -- cia annex were denied, she said this: >> the cia annex had actually, had taken a couple of libyan militia members prisoners, and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get the prisoners back, so that's still being vetted. >> reporter: being vetted by whom, the cia? that wasn't in any of the official cia timelines. the implication is that the attack on the u.s. consulate

was, n. a strike against the cia operation which involves holding and interrogating prisoners at the annex, rick. rick: more about the annex and what was exactly going on there. i know that you and our colleague adam houseley in los angeles have been doing a lot of reporting on this. what have you learned? >> reporter: well, we had originally reported on october 26th based on conversations with sources in touch with those who were at the annex that night that the cia contractors had captured three libyan prisoners who they handed over to the libyan authorities when they fled benghazi. now, we never knew who those prisoners were, we didn't know what ended up happening to them, but we have now learned that those three prisoners had been held for a few days at the annex and more than just militiamen were held there, maybe even some middle east of african countries. the cia denies this saying the cia has not had detention authority since january 2009. that's when the president signed

executive order 13493. the cia claims any suggestion that the agency is still in the detention business is, quote, uninformed and baseless. but a separate well-placed washington source confirms to fox news that the libyan militiamen being held at the annex in benghazi may be a possible motive for the staged attack on the annex and consulate which was a diplomatic facility. we now know in name only. all of this was reported by adam houseley, bret baier and myself in the last 24 hours, rick. rick: jennifer, thanks so much. jenna: we're going to have a former cia operative on with us in just about ten minutes, we'll ask him about that. in the meantime, when congress returns they're going to be facing a longstanding problem; preventing our nation's economy from going over that so-called fiscal cliff. it appears they'll also be facing the same longstanding political gridlock. just listen to house speaker john boehner and also president obama over the weekend.

>> instead of raising tax rates on the american people and accepting the damage it will do to our economy, let's start to actually solve the problem. let's focus on tax reform that closes special interest loopholes and lowers tax rates. >> now we need a majority in congress to listen, and they should start by making sure taxes don't go up on the 98% of americans making under $250,000 a year starting january 1st. this is something we all agree on. jenna: here we go again. we've been here before. bob cusack is managing editor of "the hill." not just you and me, bob, but we've talked about this quite a bit. >> yes. jenna: who has the edge? who has the leverage in these negotiations? >> for the moment, president obama has the leverage without a doubt because he won the second term that was a lot about taxes. mitt romney and obama clashed on taxes, obama came out the winner, and also senate democrats expanded their majority. so john boehner is in a very difficult spot. we've seen some movement that republicans are willing to put

some tax revenue on it, but as boehner said over the weekend, he's not going to raise tax rates. and obama is insisting on that. so i don't think you're going to get, see any type of deal this week when congress comes back. there'll be more leverage games, and we're going to probably go deep into december raising the question, are we going to get a deal? jenna: what do you think? >> i think eventually they are going to get a deal, but i think it'll probably be a two-step process where they get some type of down payment on tax reform and then do something larger in the new year with the new congress being sworn in. so, but how do you do that, how do you have one-step process? i think you've got to have the parameters of what you're going to do next year now. boehner does not want a huge deal in the lame duck. he says that the new congress should be in session when you're going to do this, the newly-elected people. so it's going to be very difficult. jenna: do you think that's best for us as well, bob, the voters that put these folks in office? is it best to get a temporary

agreement and then have the new people battle it out? is that ultimately better for us or not? >> i think so. i mean, i think when you have an election and you have elected people that are coming into congress -- they're not here yet -- you have to wait until they are seated. and i think that's what john boehner said in 2010 when republicans won back the house, and that's what he's saying now. but the question is, too, who's going to be in the room? is it going to be john boehner and president obama striking this deal? what about nancy pelosi, harry reid, mitch mcconnell? in 2011 it was basically boehner and obama, this time there might be a few more lawmakers who want in on this deal. jenna: the president's going to be sitting down with leaders later on this week. let's talk about style versus substance, something we talked about a lot with the election. i was reading comments from the ceo of at&t today, also the senior economist from bank of america who say, listen, if they'd reach an agreement, great. but if between now and then and

the disagreements look really big and bad, that's going to damage this economy because it just shatters any consumer confidence going into the holiday season. >> yes. jenna: so, ultimately, they could find a solution, but damage will already be done. what dueck about that, bob? what do you think about the style to all this as well? >> that's why -- and i agree with that, they're going to need a deal by mid december because it's going to shatter consumer confidence, and the stock market's going to play a big role here. we saw that in the bailout in 2008 when the first bill failed on the house floor, the stock market plunged. if that happens, that's going to move members closer to a deal. but, remember, there's a lot of tea party lawmakers, and can they're not going to like raising taxes on anybody. so that's the tough part for boehner is that he has to have a deal and then sell it to his conference. that's going to be the challenging aspect of this job. boehner has the toughest job in washington, without a doubt. jenna: do you think he can do it? >> i think he can. he has the trust of a lot of

house republicans, they like him, but it's going to have to be different this time around. over the last couple years, the house republican conference has led boehner. boehner's got to lead them and say, listen, we have to get a deal, or the stock market's going to crash. jenna: i mentioned that meeting with the president, john boehner, mitch mcconnell and all the other folks have been invited to the party. we'll see if they can get anything done. bob, thank you as always. >> thanks. rick: a massive clean-up effort is still underway in staten island, new york. this part of new york city one of the hardest-hit areas by the superstorm sandy, and people here say the recovery process has been slow, difficult, and to make matters worse, a lot of people are flocking to the island to get a firsthand glimpse of the damage. molly line is live in staten island, sort of like a tourist attraction there, molly? >> reporter: yeah. a tremendously difficult situation. they are saying that a lot of the debris has been picked up, so in that sense they're hoping people won't be coming by to look at -- as much as piles and

piles of debris. you can still see the devastated yards, streetaways, things that have been left behind. inside the homes literally some of them have been gutted down to the absolute studs. it has been a slow recovery. there have been about 17,000 people that are looking for fema aid, still waiting for word from fema, from their insurance companies as to when they'll actually be able to get some help, and the officials are calling on patience, assuring people they are working on things. here's representative michael grimm. >> i know you're frustrated, i know we have to do more. i'm here to speak with madam ec tear about your frustrations, about some of the environmental issues that you have concerns with, about whether your house is condemned. i know there's a lot of uncertainty. you have my word, i'm here to speak to the powers that be to get you the answers that you need. >> reporter: and it's that uncertainty that is so frustrating for a lot of people and the slow going. it's tough to find the electrical people to come by, the folks to help just to gut the place if you need help in

cleanup. this is a.j. stone, he's one of those folks that has been trying to just begin to get started on the clean-up here. you know, a.j., how frustrating has this been? >> extremely. thank god, i got a couple volunteers, found them on limp ya and slater. i've got staten aisle for change -- isle for change. first floor, basement, everything got demolished, and it's just a mess. >> reporter: what have you heard from fema, your insurance company? >> well, my first one that came today was my flood insurance. it'll take upwards of 4-8 weeks before i get notification from them or an advance which is extremely frustrating because we're in winter now. i don't have the money to buy a furnace or hot water tank, and i'm relying on that. fema's coming today at 3:00. >> reporter: thank you so much, a.j.. this is a similar situation for blocks in every direction which

makes this a huge problem and a very difficult one for a lot of people. back to you. rick: molly line live on staten island, thank you. jenna: big news out of israel today. israel coming under fire and responding. the israeli military claiming its tanks scored direct hits as they targeted syria for a second straight day. this is happening, israel says, as retaliation to syrian mortars hitting inside their borders. for some context, this is the first time we've seen fire exchanged between the two countries since the 1973 arab/israeli conflict. leland vittert is live in israel with more for us today. leland? >> reporter: and certainly right now here, jenna, the sunset has brought a calming of the guns. that was not the scene earlier. we're about a mile from the syrian border overlooking some of those villages where the syrian civil war was raging down below us with syrian artillery pounding away. it was at least one of those mortars that came here into israel for the second day in a

row, and that's when the israelis responded. they claim that they made a direct hit on some of that syrian artillery and with that brought some very strong condemnation from the israelis claiming they are ready to respond with much more force going forward. the israeli military now here along the syrian/israeli border is on high alert. we've seen tanks there patrolling the border road as it goes through. the big concern is you may have an influx of refugees from syria trying to escape some of that violence coming into israel or some of the jihadists, the strict islamist fighters inside syria fighting the regime may decide this is a perfect opportunity to try to launch an attack here at the jewish state. the israelis over the past 24-48 hours have shown a great deal of restraint in terms of their response. however, they say do not question their resolve, very strong words coming out of israel, jenna. and in the middle east it's awful lidell candidate to find that thin line between the war

of words and the war where bullets start flying. back to you. jenna: good context for us today, leland, thank you. rick: lawmakers raising some very serious questions about the relationship between the former cia director, david petraeus, and his mistress. did her close access to america's spy chief compromise our national security in any way? plus, a florida congressman fighting for his political survival, getting a partial recount. but he says there is still something fishy going on. why he demands a full recount. that's alan west. we'll have his story straight ahead.

rick: fox news alert, we've been telling you about that deadly blast in indianapolis that killed two people and will lead to the tearing down of about 30 homes in a neighborhood there. we have a possible cause now, at

least according to the owner of the house who was not there at the time. he wonders whether or not a faulty furnace in the home could have been to blame for that blast. his name is john shirley. he told the ap today that he got a text message from his daughter last week about a problem with the furnace at the house. his daughter lives in that house with mr. shirley's ex-wife and her boyfriend. again, no confirmation right now, but there is some speculation anyway that a faulty furnace could have been to blame. again, two people dead as a result of that blast, and a number of homes will have to be torn down. we'll keep you posted as we learn more information. jenna: details into general petraeus' abankrupt resignation continue to unravel. u.s. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have a few questions for the former cia director, specifically about when the fbi uncovered the affair and whether the nation's security was ever compromised. mike baker is a former cia

operate i. i know, mike, you were on our air when this news broke on friday. it's been a long weekend, just your thoughts as we enter this new week. >> well, i mean, i think, yes, the timing's important in the the sense of, you know, when was justice, when was the white house informed. because right now, i mean, everybody loves a conspiracy theory. petraeus made a mistake, no doubt about that, but he did the honorable thing, he stepped down. and i think one of the reasons why the public's, you know, surprised and also thinking maybe there's a conspiracy because i don't think they're used to seeing washington senior-level authorities doing the right thing when they're caught making a mistake. but the idea that the you bureau would be conducting an investigation for months and by their own reporting, apparently, they confirmed and wrapped up the investigation sometime around the 20th, 21st, 22nd of october. the idea that they would be going on and investigating a potential counterintelligence issue because it involves the director of the cia and not

inform the head of justice who would then not inform the white house, it kind of defies belief. jenna: why? >> well, because washington a culture where you cover your backside. and the idea that, yes, of course, the bureau started out by looking at a harassment issue, and they would be doing that investigation. but very quickly because of the way these investigations take place and the forensic review of e-mails, they would have identified the petraeus connection. now, periodly, that investigation has changed and has taken on a completely different focus and criticality here. because you're talking about someone who has access to the director of the central intelligence agency. that is a national security issue. that is a counterintelligence issue. and because of that then immediately the bureau would have to sit there and say what's our obligation. we have to, you know, inform others, to explain this to someone, maybe james clapper. they're saying the head of dni

wasn't informed until the day of the election, months and months and months after they started this investigation apparently, and certainly, at least a couple of weeks since they got the final confirmation of this affair going on. jenna: that doesn't sound right to you, something in that you still feel like there's some questions that need to be answered about the timing of the investigation, who knew what when. >> yes. jenna: okay, let's leave that there and get to the national security issue. you know, jennifer griffin just reported to us what we've seen from paula broadwell giving a speech talking about these militants that were apparently prisoners at the annex, jennifer griffin has done some independent reporting that has also said that. do you get the sense ha in any -- that in any way somehow our national security was compromised because someone like paula broadwell knew something that she shouldn't? >> well, again, it would be pure speculation. my gut feeling is that, no, i don't think that there was a classified intel problem there. not that we haven't had leaks going on for years here in

washington d.c. i mean, obviously, we had a classified intel leak investigation that was supposed to take place. i don't know where that investigation stands. but in this sense i don't believe that was the case. there's sensitivity around talking about the presence of agency personnel in benghazi, of course there is. because they're conducting operations there that are classified. and, you know, for very good reasons, the protection of human life -- ours and others operating out there -- you keep that secret. so that part of it people shouldn't look at that and say, oh, there's a conspiracy. well, the cia's doing what they do, carrying out hostile operations in hostile and challenging environmentings. but i don't believe, my gut tells me there wasn't necessarily a breach of classified information in terms of broadwell's access to petraeus. jenna: mike, would you stay with us, we've got to take a quick commercial break, about now the person who is running the cia and our national security now at this point in our nation. o we'll be right back with mike and more "happening now".

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jenna: mike baker back with us, former cia operative. mike, we wake up this week anew, right? we had one of the most decorated, well respected military officers at the head of our cia at this time last week, and now we don't. who's the temporary guy that's taking control of the cia? you know, what questions should we be asking today? >> well, you know, the good news is there's a lot of continue knewty, there's a deep bench at the agent i. from an operational point of view, this won't have an impact. mike morrell is now the acting director, he was number two, extremely, extremely capable, very, very smart and certainly, you know, well involved in the agency's operations and capabilities. so i don't see a bump there.

the question will be, you know, who do they tag to replace petraeus, and, you know, there's a couple of names that are surfaced that we're well known and familiar with in the administration -- jenna: like who? >> you have heard people talking about john brennan, he's certainly a known quantity in the intel community, and he's been close to obama for the past four years, considered, i think, by the administration probably a safe choice in the sense that, you know, they're very comfortable with him, they know him, and they believe him to be, you know, on side. there's a couple others out there, it's not my position to speculate and came in names, but -- name names, but i can think of a couple who are now retired from the agency, one in particular who would be a terrific director, but the white house will be looking for someone they're comfortable with and believes -- jenna: how big of a loss is it for this country that general petraeus is no longer active duty, no longer serving the country? >> well, look, his service to the country, you know, can't be

in question. and also his experience, his depth of knowledge. so it is a, it's a tremendous loss, but, again, we march on. we've lost, you know, people before. what i'm worried about, i'll tell you, this is maybe apropos of nothing, but washington is a strange town. right now, right in the immediate aftermath, we have lots of people talking about what a tragedy, what a great guy, but, you know, washington it doesn't take long for them to get the knives out, so i give it about a week before some of those people who are standing around talking about what a great american hero will be perfectly willing to take shots at him. and i think what we need to do instead is focus on some of these other issues. you're absolutely right. the continuity of national security decision making, i think, will go on because we have a deep bench, but it is a loss in terms of his depth and range of experience, there's no doubt about that. jenna: mike, it's great to have your perspective on the program. when the knives do come out, as

predicted by you, we'll have you back to talk you. nice to see you. >> thanks very much. rick inn almost a week after election day, and a florida lawmaker is still fighting for victory. congressman alan west, who appears to have lost by a very narrow margin, wants a full recount of all the early voting ballots. he says the numbers don't add up. his campaign charges there appears to be an effort to, quote, steal the election, and eric shawn is live in fox central with more on that. >> reporter: you know, rick, he's a nationally-known tea party favorite and is concerned that voter fraud could cost him re-election. florida republican congressman alan west says there could be voter irregularities in this race, and his campaign is calling for a partial recount that happened this weekend, well, they blast that as a sham. the st. lucy board of elections planned to recount the early votes this weekend but turns out they actually tallied less than half. west also wants them to open the poll books to make sure there are no double votes. his campaign knows that the

number of votes do not appear to match the number of people who actually voted. right now he trails murphy by 1-u907 votes or .58% of the total. that's just barely above the number of .5% that triggers the automatic recount that congressman west wants. >> someone has to explain a 4,400-vote swing in the middle of the night. and if this is about tilting the election, him a on them. i can understand that, you know, people may not want to see me win a congressional election, but they should not do it at the expense of the voters. i want to see a confidence and a trust that the people down here in congressional district 18 and the american people can continue to have in their electoral process. >> reporter: but murphy's campaign claims they won and says there is no legal basis for a recount. >> it is clear, it is a resounding victory for patrick murphy, and it is time for us to move forward and do the people's business, and it's time for

mr. west to take the honorable course, recognize the inevitable. >> reporter: but congressman west tells us he's not giving up, citing a reported voter turnout of 141 president in st. lucie county. he believes, in his words, that manager is being hidden. -- manager is being hidden. there's our address, voterfraud@foxnews.com. rick: eric shawn in the newsroom, thanks. jenna: and now this fox news alert, it might be a sign that things are getting a little bit more back to normal in the state of new jersey. gas rationing ends in that state as of 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. there were different rules in effect for when you could get gas and, of course, we showed you those long gas lines that you're seeing on your screen. new jersey's governor, chris christie, says gas supplies are plentiful, there's no more line, so things can get back to business as usual. we'll be right back with more "happening "happening now" howe. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare,

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there was no notification to the chair and ranking members of the house and senate intelligence committees that the cia director and alleged affair with the biographer had come up within the scope of an fbi investigation. under u.s. code 50 subsection 413, and 413a deal with the notification issue. fox news is told that the notification chain typically would be from the fbi agents to their immediate boss director robert mueller and his immediate boss attorney general eric holder. intelligence officials say this case falls outside of the norm. >> there is no rule book or history as to how you handle these kinds of events. these folks may have been making it up as they went along doing the best they could balancing all of these important interests, you know, from some sper specht teufs they may have go perspectives they may have got even it right and others wrong.

>> one capitol hill source told fox knowing that the general was in the scope of an fbi investigation even if the matter seemed largely a personal matter would have changed the optics here, which petraeus' action and statements were viewed. this is key, because three days after the benghazi attack the general in what is now a controversial briefing told lawmakers that the attack was akin to a flash mob, he seemed very much wedded to the administration's narrative that was part of this anti-islam video, and this directly conflicted with statements by the fbi and the national counterterrorism center earlier in the week that it was an al-qaida-related event and they made no mention to lawmakers about a demonstration ear this anti-islam video, rick. rick: catherine herridge live for us in washington. as always, thanks. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: as one of the iconic images of super storm sandy, a crane that you're seeing on the screen snapping and dangling over the new york city skyline. it was aeu t-fpd to a hirise

construction site. what is said to be one of the most expensive hirise highrises in america called 157. the crane has been secured so the traffic in the neighborhood can reopen. you can't forget that, can you? that 157 building is 75 stores stories o. $95million for one suite. what does this tell us about the real estate market? if you can sell an apartment for $95 million, what does it say about it overall. >> david kaufman is a relance journalist. wrote an article on this piece of property. what is buying these apartments. >> there wasn't just one $95 million sale there were actually two. two penthousess went between 90 and $95 million. jenna: they are gone off the

market. >> gone off the market. jenna: who is behind it. >> american and i international buyers are coming into the market. in the $50 million range we had some of the founders of tommy hilfiger as well as an internet investor. jenna: the lower range is the $50 million apartments. >> exactly, starter apartments. jenna: they don't need to get a mortgage. they are not looking to finance those apartments. >> absolutely not. these are people buying cash and probably own multiple residences around the world of equal value. jenna: when we see these high-end apartments start to sell again and we're seeing that in new york a lot, new construction a lot of high-end what is that telling us about the real estate market for the rest of the country? >> what it's saying is that new build real estate is sort of happening again, it's back. obviously most buyers are not going to be buying in the 50 or $95 million range, even on main street on the he lower level we are seeing housing starts up by 15% in september. there was a 15% increase in

housing starts in september, just in that month and a 34% in housing starts for the whole year. that translates into literally hundreds of thousands of new houses that are being built and that also translates into hundreds of thousands of jobs. the commerce department says for every house that is being started that is three jobs. jenna: that is interesting. you look at those 95 million-dollar apartments it's easy to shrug them off. someone has to build those apartments. in that one building how many units are there. >> there are only 92 units in that building. jenna: pretty nice view, we he are looking at it on our screen so everybody can get an idea as to what these folks are actually buying. as you're taking a look at other big urban areas getting back to who is buying, in casual conversation a lot of people say it's foreign money that is coming into the united states. is there any truth in that? >> absolutely. in new york and particularly in miami the big news is latin-american buyers, particularly buyers from venezuela who want to offshore their money from president hugo

chavez' on going regime and argentina, buyers who are concerned about -ts president's new money tear recontrols and are desperate to get their money out of south america. definitely. jenna: since the money is coming here what do you think that tells us about the u.s. economy overall? >> i think it says the u.s. economy, particularly high-end real estate in general is considered a safe investment. these are people who you might call property nomads, they want to take their money and they are romeing around the world looking for a safe investment, particularly in new york, central park and large scale, luxury and rare residences are considered blue chip property and safe investments for the long term. jenna: $95 million is the top penthouse. the median household goes for $186,000 in the country. just in perspective. a wide range market you're covering, david, nice to have you in studio with us. rick: i'd have to look for the lower-range one. jenna: the 50 million. rick: the $50 million range.

a shocking discovery sparking a media frenzy on friday afternoon, straight ahead how the mainstream media has done covering the petraeus scandal. someone stealing the keys to the castle how an intruder gained access to london's iconic tower of london and the surprising access he almost got to the crown. juliet: . along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor abvia. jewels. 20 million men already have. rease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra.

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rick: the sudden resignation of cia director david petraeus sparking an avalanche of coverage by the news media raising questions, reporters jumping all over the story. for good reason of course, it's quite a story. it's forcing them to take a look at the terrorist attack in benge, a lot of which they were ignoring leading up to the election. jim pinkerton is editor of the american conservative magazine. alan colmes is host of the alan colmes radio show, and author of thank the liberals for saving

america. i'm always leery of stories that break on a friday afternoon, a couple of days after a presidential election. what do you make of the timing and the coverage so far? >> i mean, it's pretty amazing that a story that ron kessler at news max says that the fbi was onto this in the spring and of course the spring is a minimum of four and a half months ago, and how they managed to keep it quiet, i mean, mike baker was on the fox era while ago, said listen there is no way that the fbi wouldn't have to tell other people what they are up to. catherine herridge pretty much said the same thing. it is kind of mysterious to me how they could keep this investigation secret from apparently the administration, the director of national inte intelligence mr. clapper, the president and eric holder and nonetheless get rid of petraeus before the hearing on capitol hill before this coming thursday. rick: he may still testify, that's been talked about over the last day or so.

alan, genuine surprises in the news business are so rare these days. yet, friday at around 3:00 this was one of them. how do you think the coverage has been so far? >> there is a lot we don't know. it's not just the fbi who may have known and the cia and who noes if the white house knew, eric cantor is saying that he knew. the republicans knew as well and they didn't come forward witness. the question is, was there a broader effort not just democratically but also on the republican side to keep 4 quiet until after the election? i think there are so many things we don't know and i know the media is trying to get at those answers. rick: what about the fact that this was, someone, general petraeus who is universally revered, democrats and republicans alike. how has that impacted the coverage. >> it's helped him. he's had plenty of detractors as well. michael hastings at rolling stone has written extensively on him and not at all fondly. i mean, look, alan is right

there are a lot of questions. what has been mysterious all along has been the complete lack of mainstream media interest in the benghazi stuff, and as catherine said, general petraeus was part of the group saying immediately after the attack in september that, well you know this you was like a flash mob or something. then if you remember the thursday before the elections, goes back two weeks now, the cia briefed every reporter in town about how actually the cia did a wonderful job. so it would appear that immediately petraeus took the administration line that it was a flash mob or just random demonstrating violence and then as the boiling water crept up to his neck on the benghazi stuff he then said, well actually the cia did a great job. that might have been the trigger that made the administration say we don't need this guy any more, we don't need him on the team. rick: let's switch topics. we heard a story about alan west's wanting a actual counting

of all the early ballots in florida. he says the numbers in his congressional contest don't add up. and he's behind by a slight margin. and then you have the turn out number in philadelphia, pennsylvania, historic highs that we're also reporting on here at fox today, james rows even is on that story. alan, the media so sort of quick to jump on the story that president obama has won a second term, is the mainstream media, is the mainstream media ignoring some of these other election-related stories? >> is there any question that he won a second term? are we questioning whether he actually won a second term? what is does this denial stop, come on. rick: i on. >> in terms of alan west he's outside the margin of error. there is no question that alan west lost his race. the right wing will have to accept that they lost this election on many, many levels. rick: jim, i'll let you jump in there. >> i think alan west lost too.

i'm not totally shocked, frankly. voter fraud is a continuing issue and philadelphia is no better place to study voter fraud as has been written about in "stealing elections" i would be more focused on that and alan west. >> voter fraud normally happens when you register. the only fraud we saw this election was a republican-linked firm. that is ironic since they have been yelling voter fraud at democrats. rick: alan, jim always good to talk to you thank you so much. jenna: a thief jumps over the main gate to the tower of london and grabs the keys to the famous drawbridge. how that thief got caught and why they are now changing the locks. sounds like a pretty good idea. we remember all of those who served and are serving our country, so valiantly on this veteran's day. we are going to show you how 0 some are giving back to one iraq

vet who sacrificed so much for his country. that is ahead.

jenna: major security breach at the home of bright tan's crown jewels and one of the most popular tourist attraction. thieves breaking in and stealing the keys to the famed tower of london. patti ann has the latest. >> reporter: britain's tower of london did suffer a rare security breach. an intruder broke in and stole skis from a box. the trees were to the draw bridges, conference rooms and restaurants. butt internal bridge lock that would be opened by the stolen key is not accessible from the outside, so officials say it

would have been impossible to gain access to the tower with any of these keys. authorities also say the brown jewels and other unique artifacts are safe. all the affected locks were changed. authorities say the theft occurred last tuesday. an investigation is underway, but a historic royal palace statement says security procedures were not properly followed. the tower is guarded by yoman ward ders known as beef eaters. they spotted the thefs but did not give chase, instead they radioed for help since rules prevent them from leaving their posts. after getting around the tower's main gate the intruder was captured and escorted off the premises. jenna: i think i'd chase off. you can't just stand there and radio. >> reporter: rules are rules. jenna: i guess you're right. rick: usually they have a history of -- at the tower of london that's what they did there a longtime ago. jenna: really? sometimes tradition works. rick: in honor of veteran's day 2012 we wanted to bring you an

inspirational story about a badly disabled soldier who just returned from the front lines in iraq and afghanistan and today is going to be given the keys to a homemade specially for him. steve centanni is live with that story. >> reporter: sergeant john peck received the keys a little while ago. we are standing inside the 2500 square foot house near fredericks pw*uurg. it was given to him by two foundations. there was a ceremony to hand over the keys. it's a nice new house and especially designed for sergeant peck so that he can he's lie access everything in this building, and the hero himself who lost four limbs in afghanistan who says he's not a hero is here with us right now. sergeant john peck. how do you like your new house. >> it's amazing, i love it. can't wait to play around with all the buttons and everything.

>> reporter: very high-tech isn't it. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: why do you say you're not a hero. >> because i really do not consider myself a hero. i was just the unfortunate one to step on an i ed. i really think the unsunk heroes, the guys who did not come back are the real true heros that deserve more. >> reporter: an ied in iraq and another one in afghanistan. why did you go back? >> because i love my job, it's fun. i mean i get to have brothers, and i know that they always have my back, and basically do my job. >> reporter: thank you, john and good luck. let me show you a few of the high-tech features here. in the kitchen it's specially designed for him. all you have to do is punch a button here or do it on the ipad, you can do it on the ipad, kitchen cabinets come down so sergeant peck can easily access it. wheelchair can go under the sink, the faucet specially placed. everything designed from the ground up so that somebody who gave so much love for our

country can enjoy his liv even enjoy his life here. rick: thank you so much. we'll be right back.